There was a little girl
by Skovko
Summary: For as long as Roman has known Seth, Seth has been taking these pills that Roman has never asked about. Tonight he decides that he wants to know. After Seth tells how he used to hallucinate as a child and constantly saw this little girl that never aged, Roman suggests that maybe Seth should stop taking the pills and see if his adult brain might have healed itself from childhood.
1. Hallucinations

Roman watched as Seth found a bottle of pills in his bag, unscrewed the lid, took one out, walked over to grab the bottle of water on the nightstand and swallowed the pill down. Roman had seen Seth take those pills for years and for some reason never questioned what they were or why Seth was taking them. Roman couldn't explain what came over him that evening but suddenly he felt the need to know.

"What are you taking?" Roman asked.  
"Oh, just something my doctor prescribed when I was a kid. I have to take them all my life," Seth said.  
"Why?" Roman asked.

Seth wavered. It was clear to Roman that Seth was stuck between wanting to tell Roman and wanting to keep quiet. Not wanting to give his friend the choice, Roman quickly grabbed the bottle and read the label.

"One aday for hallucinations?" Roman looked at Seth concerned. "Do you hallucinate?"

Seth grabbed the bottle of pills, walked back to his bag and dumped the bottle down. His shoulders fell down before he let out a sigh and turned around to look at Roman again.

"I used to," Seth said. "When I was a kid."  
"What did you see?" Roman asked.

Seth raised his eyebrows. Of all the things he was scared Roman might end up saying, Roman had chosen to actually be interested. Seth shouldn't have been so surprised. Roman cared about him. He knew that. He allowed his fear to give way for the small hint of hope and happiness inside him. He walked over to sit down next to Roman on the bed in the small hotel room.

"Well, there was this girl. She started out older than me," Seth said.  
"Started out?" Roman asked.  
"She never aged. I don't really recall her not being there. She was always there while I grew up. I got older but she never did," Seth said.  
"What was her name?" Roman asked.  
"Kathy," Seth answered.  
"And her age?" Roman asked.  
"8," Seth said. "I really thought she was there. I think I was around 10 when my mother told me I was too old to keep having an imaginary friend. I told her that she could tell Kathy to leave then because she refused to leave my room. Of course mom couldn't see Kathy. We had a huge fight over it because I kept insisting Kathy was there. Eventually mom took me to a doctor, then a psychologist and finally a psychiatrist who got me started on those pills. And I never hallucinated since."

Seth took a deep breath. It felt good to finally tell someone about it. No one but his mother knew the full story.

"Do you think less of me now?" Seth asked.  
"What? Heavens, no, Seth. You're still my little brother," Roman chuckled. "Thank you for telling me though."  
"Thank you for listening. It felt good to let all that out," Seth said.

Roman glansed towards Seth's bag and then back at Seth.

"Have you ever considered to stop taking them? Maybe your brain has healed itself after all these years," Roman said.  
"I don't know," Seth shrugged. "I mean, of course I've thought about it but I'm scared. I don't wanna be labeled that crazy wrestler who started seeing things."  
"You're right. I shouldn't even be suggesting that," Roman patted Seth's knee. "You know yourself best. Screw what everyone else thinks. If those pills feel right for you, keep taking them. You got my support."


	2. Ghost

Something was different about Seth. Roman had been able to tell over the last week or maybe a week and a half. Something was up with Seth but Roman also knew Seth good enough to know that this was something Seth would talk about himself when he was ready. Apparently Seth was ready this evening.

"I stopped taking them," Seth said.  
"Stopped taking what?" Roman asked.  
"The pills," Seth answered. "I stopped taking them."  
"And?" Roman asked.  
"And nothing. No girl or any other hallucination," Seth answered.  
"See, I told you," Roman grinned. "Your brain is all good."

Roman was expecting a smile in return but it didn't come. Seth started pacing the floor and then stopped a few seconds later.

"I've been thinking. It doesn't make sense," Seth said.  
"What doesn't?" Roman asked.  
"I only ever saw Kathy. No other hallucination," Seth said. "How often do you hear about people suffering from hallucinations that they only ever see one thing?"  
"I'm sure it happens," Roman said.  
"I'm not," Seth said.

Roman who had been lying back on his elbows on his bed in their shared hotel room pushed himself up to sit. This was serious. Seth wasn't calm.

"What if she was real?" Seth asked.  
"Come on," Roman said. "You said it yourself. She never aged. She couldn't be real."  
"No, I mean, what if she was a ghost?" Seth asked.  
"A ghost?" Roman questioned.  
"I only ever saw her in our house. Not in school, not in the supermarket, not in other people's homes. Only in our house," Seth said.

Seth sat down on his own bed and looked across the small space to Roman's bed.

"Ghosts attach themselves to things, don't they?" Seth asked.  
"Some do. Others attach themselves to people. And others just roam around wherever. There's never any rules when it comes to that," Roman said.  
"How would you know?" Seth asked.  
"My wife has an interest in the occult," Roman smirked.

Roman pulled out his phone and opened Google on it.

"Okay, Kathy," Roman said. "What's her last name?"  
"I don't know," Seth said.  
"Alright, we'll work with what we know. Kathy, 8 years old, Buffalo, Iowa," Roman said.

Roman started scrolling through the search results.

"Anything?" Seth asked nervously.  
"A lot of people celebrating their daughters' birthdays. Kathy is a pretty common name," Roman said.

Roman cracked a smile while saying that but suddenly his smile fell. He turned his phone that showed a photo of a girl with long, straight, dark blonde hair and a pair of sad, cornflower blue eyes.

"That's her," Seth said.

Roman turned his phone back again.

"8 year old Kathy Williams missing. She left school but never returned home. That was in 1977. She's still missing to this day," Roman said.  
"What?" Seth asked.

Seth ran from his bed to Roman's so they could both look at the article together.

"Her parents were suspects. Teachers reported after she went missing how she was always covered in bruises," Seth said.  
"Look at their address," Roman said.  
"Fuck!" Seth said shocked. "That's mom's house."  
"The house you grew up in. She lived in that house," Roman said. "How much do you wanna bet she died in that house too? That she did make it home from school that day and for some reason one of her parents snapped?"

Seth stood up, paced the floor again while running his hand through his hair over and over. Roman watched Seth. This was a lot to take in for both of them but he couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through Seth's mind in that moment. All these years he had thought he was crazy for seeing a dead girl that no one else could see.

"I need to go back home," Seth said.  
"Do you want me to come with you?" Roman asked.  
"If it's not too much to ask," Seth looked at Roman. "I could really use your support for this. I'm freaking out, man. I'm not gonna lie about that. I'm fucking scared already."


	3. Remains

Seth and Roman stood in front of the front door to Seth's mother's home. She wasn't home. She was on a vacation which was why Seth had chosen to come this week. He didn't want his mother around. He knew she would try and talk sense into him or maybe even call a doctor if she thought he was back to hallucinating.

"Ready to do this?" Roman asked.  
"I think so," Seth answered.

Seth found his key to the house and unlocked the door. Both men stepped inside and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was Seth's childhood home. He still came and went as an adult, yet everything seemed different this day when he looked around with a fresh pair of eyes.

"Anything?" Roman asked.  
"Let's go to my room. She would always come there on her own," Seth said.

They walked up the stairs and into Seth's room that had been transformed into a guest room since he moved away from home. Roman watched Seth as Seth looked around. Seth sighed and shook his head.

"Nothing?" Roman asked. "Try calling her."

Seth cleared his throat. Calling her name suddenly seemed like the hardest task ever.

"Kathy?" Seth coughed and raised his voice. "Kathy? Are you here?"

They both almost held their breath as they waited for 20 long seconds. Seth finally shook his head again.

"Maybe she wasn't real," Seth said. "Maybe I made her up in my head. I could have heard about her and..."  
"Why don't you like me anymore?" Kathy asked.

Seth spun around so fast that he almost tripped over his own feet. There she stood as he remembered her. Kathy with her long, dark blonde hair and those sad, cornflower blue eyes. She was wearing that light green dress with pictures of shooting stars on it that she was always wearing.

"I thought you were my friend," Kathy said.  
"I am your friend," Seth said.  
"Then why did you stop talking to me?" Kathy asked.

Roman was watching Seth. He couldn't see or hear anyone else but his younger friend, but Seth was clearly talking to someone. Roman placed a hand on Seth's shoulder to let his friend know he was there for him.

"Can you see her?" Seth asked.  
"No," Roman answered. "I'm not gifted like you, Seth."  
"She is real, isn't she?" Seth asked.  
"I think so," Roman answered. "Just because I can't see her doesn't mean she's not there."  
"She's there," Seth said determined.  
"Then help her," Roman said.

Seth walked over to Kathy and went down on one knee so he was in eye level with her.

"You need to move on," Seth said. "There must be some way to cross over to somewhere. I don't know. I don't know how it works in the world you're in."  
"Unfinished business," Roman piped up. "Ask her where she is. Her body, I mean."  
"Kathy, sweetheart," Seth smiled at the girl. "What happened to you? Do you remember?"  
"I was a bad girl," Kathy said.  
"No, you weren't. You were a good girl. Your parents were bad," Seth sighed. "I need to know where your body is. Do you understand what I'm saying? Do you understand that you're dead? Your body was never found. I think that if you lead me to it, you can finally get closure and move on."

Kathy moved over to one of the walls. She leaned her back up against it and looked at Seth.

"My favorite game is hide and seek," Kathy said.  
"I remember," Seth said.  
"Do you remember where I said the perfect hiding place would be?" Kathy asked.  
"In the wall," Seth whispered.

He jumped up, ran out of the room and down the stairs.

"Seth?" Roman yelled.  
"Stay there!" Seth yelled back.

Roman stayed in the room. He could hear Seth run out in the garage that was connected with kitchen. He had a feeling someone was watching him even though he couldn't see anyone. Seth came running back up the stairs with a sledgehammer in his hands. He walked over to the wall. Kathy was no longer there. Seth couldn't see her anywhere. It didn't matter though. He lifted his arms with the sledgehammer in his hands.

"Wow, Seth," Roman said. "What the fuck?"  
"Stand back," Seth said.

Seth went amok on the wall. He kept smashing the sledgehammer into it until he had made a hole big enough to get his upper body through. He dropped the sledgehammer and looked through the hole he had made.

"There's something in here," Seth said.

He reached inside and grabbed the item. He pulled out what appeared to be a big sports bag. He placed it down on the floor and looked nervously at Roman.

"Open it," Roman said.

Seth unzipped the bag and pushed it open. Both Seth and Roman jumped back and the foul stench that reached them. They both stared at what seemed to be the skeleton of a child and the remains of a light green dress with pictures of shooting stars on it.

"I found her," Seth started crying.  
"Let's call the police," Roman said.

* * *

People had been flooding Seth's mom's house. He had called his mother to let her know what was up. Naturally she had been shocked and almost unable to speak. Seth had hung up and stayed as requested. An officer finally walked up to him after a while.

"Jake Derby," the officer introduced himself.  
"Seth Rollins," Seth said. "It's my mother's house. This is my friend Roman."  
"You closed an old case today," Jake said.  
"I wish I could feel proud about that," Seth sighed.  
"Yeah, it's always bittersweet to find a corpse despite it giving life to a cold case," Jake said.  
"I don't care if it was her father or mother. Just get those bastards," Seth said.  
"I'm afraid that's not possible. Her father died three years ago. Her mother has dementia and is in a nursing home," Jake said.

Seth hung his head low. He had hoped Kathy would somehow get justice after all these years.

"What will happen to her remains?" Roman asked.  
"Since no one's there to claim them, she'll probably be buried in an unknown grave," Jake said.  
"Can I claim them?" Seth asked. "I wanna pay for a coffin and a tombstone for her."  
"That can be arranged. I'll call you once her remains have been examined," Jake said.

Jake shook both men's hands and walked away again. Roman placed an arm around Seth and pulled his friend in for a much needed hug.

"That's very kind of you to want to give her a resting place," Roman said.  
"It's for both of us. So I have a place to come talk to her although she won't answer me anymore," Seth said.  
"She's gone?" Roman asked.  
"Yes. I can feel it," Seth said. "She went wherever she was supposed to go. She's at peace now."  
"Because you found her," Roman said.  
"I found her," Seth nodded. "I just wish I could tell her goodbye."


End file.
